Grant brings MSU project to Corinth

CORINTH – During a four-year grant period, the city of Corinth will have the expertise and guidance of a team from the Carl Small Town Center at Mississippi State University to implement improvements across the community.

A $40,000 grant from the Pierce Foundation – $10,000 a year for four years – will be used to support the project, said Professor John Poros, director of the center at the MSU Department of Architecture.

“We had done some work before in Corinth through a class sponsored by the CREATE Foundation,” Poros said. “The students came up with several proposals, and Corinth has started to put into play a number of them.”

Among those proposals was revitalization along Wick Street, and developers Trey Albright and Stuart Green used their work as the basis for renovations along a two-block stretch of Wick Street between Taylor and Cruise that is virtually complete.

“This grant will continue that work and look a little broader in terms of the community in Corinth and what kinds of things might be done in terms of the physical environment,” Poros said.

Working with Main Street Corinth, the group from MSU will assemble a broad segment of the community to assess what needs to be done.

“We’ll be reaching out to all parts of the community and include retail, industry, tourism and individuals before another meeting is scheduled in March,” said Taylor Coombs, Main Street Corinth executive director.

Poros said the key is to make sure the projects they recommend reflect what the community feels are some of the most important issues.

“Our hope is that by the end of the process it will not only be a report but also the start of something being built or being implemented,” he said.